Peeps & Company unveils Peeps tree

Just Born created a huge Peeps tree to mark one-year anniversary of Peeps… (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO )

December 19, 2010|By Kathy Lauer-Williams, OF THE MORNING CALL

Peeps and Company, the first retail store opened by Bethlehem candy-maker Just Born, celebrates its one-year anniversary by creating the largest ever tree made of Peeps.

The store which opened last December at National Harbor, Maryland, unveiled the 20 foot tall tree at Ice! a tented frozen wonderland made from two-million pounds of ice.

The tree took more than two weeks to build and is made from rows of Christmas tree-shaped Peeps, decorated with a variety of Peeps for ornaments and garland. Beneath the tree are presents wrapped in Peeps chicks and bunnies, and the star is made of Peeps chicks.

Visitors to Ice! can try guess how many Peeps were used to build the tree to win a prize.

"We are honored to be part of the Ice! event as we mark our store's one-year anniversary," said Karen Simonet, Peeps & Company manager. "Our first year at Peeps & Company has been very successful, with visitor excitement and traffic, along with strong sales boding well for the future."

Just Born, founded in 1923, is privately owned and manufacturers other candies including Hot Tamales, Mike and Ikes and Teenee Beanees. It has about 475 employees.